By Tom Marshall

The interim head coach, who was handed the position early Saturday morning, says it's too early to make a decision on his future after Friday's defeat in Columbus, Ohio.

Luis Fernando Tena clung on to his interim job as Mexico coach in the wake of El Tri’s 2-0 loss to the United States on Tuesday.

With hopes of making the World Cup hanging in the balance, Mexico showed the same kinds of problems – lack of leadership, offensive bluntness and defensive errors – as under Jose Manuel “Chepo” de la Torre, yet Tena claimed he was not ready to resign.

“This isn’t the best moment to make decisions,” he said in his postgame press conference in Columbus, Ohio. “I have to analyze a lot of things.”

The Olympic gold-medal winner was also effusive in his praise for the players and their ability, despite the lack of points and positive performances in the hexagonal stage of World Cup qualifying.

If Tena and the rest of the coaching staff that De la Torre assembled are fired, as expected, the leading candidates for the Mexico job have widely reported as being former Monterrey coach Victor Manuel Vucetich, Tomas Boy and current Club America manager Miguel Herrera.